Centre To Clear Drawback Dues Worth Rs 500 Cr

NEW DELHI: In a month-long drive to honour pending dues, claims of drawback payment worth Rs 500 crore will be examined and cleared in May. These pending claims are the reimbursements made to exporters by the government in lieu of taxes paid on inputs.

Exporters have asked the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) to honour claims on the basis of proof of shipments made and payments received and not to demand unnecessary documents that lead to delays.

The drawback clearance month is jointly organised by the customs department and the Delhi Exporters Association (DEA). During the month, customs officials dedicatedly worked towards clearing all past claims and making payments.

Exporters, however, say a lot of claims are unduly postponed further when customs officials ask for additional documentary proof of transactions. “Once goods have been shipped and the payments realised, there is no need for Customs to ask for additional documentary proof. Drawback should be given instantly,” said DEA president SP Agarwal.

Mr Agarwal said that CBEC chairman PC Jha agreed to get the issue examined and take appropriate action. Another issue raised by exporters was the absence of a proper mechanism of intimating exporters if their claims were rejected by the Customs for some reason.

“On several occasions, exporters get to know that their claims have been rejected and they are supposed to file supplementary claims only when they enquire about delayed payments.

There is also a risk of the claim lapsing if exporters don’t take action on time,” Mr Agarwal said. DEA has asked CBEC to ensure that intimations of rejections are made in a timely manner.

Exports From Sezs Likely To Increase To Rs 1.4 Lakh Cr Next Fiscal

Ahmedabad: Exports from special economic zones (SEZs), mainly from the IT and ITeS-based zones, are expected to double to Rs 1,40,000 crore in the fiscal 2008-09.

In 2006-07, exports from SEZs touched Rs 34,787 crore and are expected to increase by nearly 93 per cent in 2007-08 to Rs 67,088 crore, according to Mr Ravi S. Saxena, Development Commissioner, Kandla SEZ, Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Nearly 70 per cent of this revenue came from the IT sector. The total land requirement for the formal approvals granted till date is nearly 59,933 hectares. Out of the 428 formal approvals, 160 are for sector-specific and multi-products purposes for labour-intensive manufacture of textiles and apparels, leather footwear, automobile components, engineering etc. In Gujarat, altogether 19 formal approvals have been given for SEZs and 16 others notified in which the proposed investment would be nearly Rs 1,06,924 crore with an expected job potential of 5,46,294 (direct and indirect). Of this, Rs 34,600 crore has already been invested, creating nearly 16,000 jobs.

Exports From Sezs Rise By 200-Pc In 2 Yrs

New Delhi: The Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act of 2005, which completed two years on February 10, 2008, has witnessed a 200 per cent growth in exports from these zones during the period, and has led to an incremental investment of Rs 70,416 crore. However, developers of the zones are skeptical of finance ministry proposals, which seek to reduce fiscal incentives provided under the Act and maintain that investments of $75 billion, lined up in the next five zones, could be at stake. The finance ministry has proposed imposing export obligation in excess of 51 per cent on SEZs as well as imposing direct tax measures like Minimum Alternative Tax and Dividend Distribution Tax. Investors, including ones from abroad like Nike, have lined up long-term investment plans. If fiscal incentives are trimmed, proposed investments would be in jeopardy as investors would back out, said Ajay Nijhawan, convenor of the panel of SEZ developers within the Export Promotion Council for SEZs and EoUs (export-oriented units). According to the source, between 2003-04 and 2005-06, total value of exports from SEZs stood at Rs 50,000 crore. In 2007-08, we are likely to have exports worth Rs 67,088 crore from SEZs and in 2008-09, these are likely to cross Rs 1,00,000 crore. According to developers, the issue of revenue leakage due to SEZs is notional. Other issues pertaining to the SEZs include classification of SEZs as real estate projects by the RBI.

Exports Up 16% In Dec'07; Meagre 2% Growth

NEW DELHI: India's exports grew by a healthy 16.04% in December 2007 in dollar terms but managed a paltry improvement of 2.54% in rupee terms, impacted by a strong domestic currency against the US dollar.

Exports went up to $12.31 billion in December 2007 amid exporters' concerns over slowdown in the US economy and appreciation in rupee against the dollar.

In rupee terms, exports were valued at Rs 48,569.64 crore, growing by just 2.54% in December 2007.

Imports during the month were valued at $17.68 billion, up 18.06%, from $14.97 billion in December 2006. In rupee terms, imports increased by 4.31% to Rs 69,731.56 crore in December.

For the April-December period of 2007-08, India's exports stood at $111.04 billion, registering an encouraging growth of 21.76% from $91.2 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

India's trade deficit for April-December period of the current fiscal widened by about 35% to $57.82 billion from $42.85 billion in the year-ago period.

"The export figures are encouraging. The next three months - peak period for exporters - are likely to see exports in the range of $40 billion," Federation of Indian Export Organisations Director General said.

He said at the current rate, exports would be in the range of $145-150 billion for 2007-08, falling short of the $160 billion target set by the government.

Commerce Secretary Gopal Pillai maintained that India will be able to achieve exports worth $150 billion despite the US slowdown and rupee impact.

Sahai, however, said cut in the US interest rates would lead to further appreciation of the rupee which would impact exporters' margins.

The rupee has appreciated by about 15% against the dollar in the last one year impacting export growth, particularly of labour intensive sectors such as textiles, leather, marine products and handicrafts.

Imports for the April-December period of current fiscal grew 25.97% to $168.87 billion, compared to 134.05 billion in the year-ago period, according to official data released on Friday.
In rupee terms, exports grew by 7.74% in April-December 2007, while imports were up by 11.54%.

Oil imports during December 2007 were valued at $5.96 billion, up 23.78% from $4.81 billion in 2006. For the nine-month period of the current fiscal, oil imports were to the tune of $49.31 billion, 11.68% higher than $44.15 billion in the corresponding period of previous fiscal.

Non-oil imports during December 2007 were $11.71 billion, up 15.34% from $10.15 billion in December 2006. During April-December 2007, non-oil imports grew 32.99% to $119.55 billion as compared to $89.89 billion in the same period of previous fiscal.